Take a moment to think about being hungry. How does it feel? How do you fix being hungry? Now imagine not knowing where your next meal will come from. For millions of Americans that is a reality 42.2 million to be exact. 1 in 6. I've been fortunate to never been hungry. I've been hangry but not food insecure. Today I spoke about nutrition and budgeting at a Senior Nutrition Program here in Salinas. Having worked for a supplemental food program I was vaguely aware that there was a similar program for seniors. For those of you not in the know, the Alliance of Aging's Elderly Nutrition Program is a grant-funded program created to improve the nutrition of the elderly as well as create new social opportunities. Today participants also received donations from the food bank as well. Not only does the program provide for in center meals, they also do home delivery and a Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program which gives seniors a one-time financial incentive to shop at Farmers Market.
I want you to imagine for a minute that you are 70 years old. You have some health problems. You're unable to drive far and you're living on a limited budget. What are your priorities? Do you eat? Do you pay bills? Do you keep the lights on? Just imagine. Don't assume it can't happen to me I put money away and I have a family. Just imagine, you're a senior, you're isolated, you count on this one meal a week and donations for food. What would you want to eat? What would you need to supplement? Ok, hold that in your mind. When you see donation bins this winter for the food bank, hold that in your mind. Imagine one step farther what would a nutritionally adequate meal look like. What would you eat for dinner if you were to eat your healthiest meal? Hold that in your mind and Donate that. Donate dried beans and low sodium canned beans, brown rice, whole wheat pasta, low sodium canned vegetables, Canned fruit in water or its own juice. Donate dried fruit and unsalted nuts. Don't use the food bank as a waste bin for the foods you don't want. Just because they are poor they shouldn't "just be grateful for what they get."
Now for some startling statistics:
About 5,000 nutrition service providers together serve over 900,000 meals a day in communities all across the United States.
Monterey County Food bank feeds 1/5th of Monterey County with 6 million pounds of food.
34% of Monterey County residents are food insecure.
I remember the day I learned why WIC only goes until age 5 for kids. That is when school lunch programs pick up. Hunger is an issue that spans across all age ranges. It's personal and many times you don't know who around you is or has suffered from hunger. Seniors and children are most likely to suffer from hunger issues. Don't let America's obesity epidemic fool you into thinking that hunger is not an issue. I remember when I first went to work for WIC thinking that hunger did not look like what I thought. The unfortunate reality is that low nutrition low-cost foods are readily available while low-cost nutrient-dense foods are not so much. As so many call for us to come together, I will add my voice to the call. Be good to one another this holiday season and every other day think of those less fortunate than you.
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